'The Pride of Jamakeer' - A 'Maelstrom' Class Light Cargo Carrier - Finished!

Well, here you go, I finally finished the 'Maelstrom' Class cruiser and my word, it's a biggie...

In fact it's not just a biggie, it's positively huge, coming in at just over 20 inches long! It's by far the largest 40k model I've ever made. There's a load more photos after the cut, if you're so inclined...




So, after my original post about this way back in June, (*here* if you're interested) I asked for some advice on paint schemes. Lasgunpacker came up with the fantastic idea of going for an old ocean liner scheme, so that's what I've gone for. Most seemed to be variant stripes of red, white and black, and it's worked really well. I also designed the insignia and logos for it, using inkjet transfer paper, which I'll cover more in another post.

The ship itself is made up of a selection of Forgeworld and GW models, but primarily parts of a Thunderhawk, a Caestus Assault Ram and a Storm Raven, along with whatever was in the bits box that looked about right. All i need to do now is add a little more rust and weathering I think, and then varnish it to protect it.

As to the background for this behemoth, it's part of the 'Red Star Line', which is a small outfit operating a few interplanetary trading routes considered less profitable by the larger consortia, whether down to diminished populations or danger from piracy.

Here, it's flagship, the Pride of Jamakeer, can be seen being unloaded on it's home planet. Jamakeer itself is one of the riskier routes, being a pirate homeworld, but it is believed that the RSL pays protection to one of the larger organised groups in order that it's ships can go about their business unmolested...

 Squat traders examine an arms and ammunition shipment being unloaded. 

  Squat traders examine an arms and ammunition shipment being unloaded. 

 The ship's crew perform their routine checks for damage, as the pilot stands guard next to the cockpit entrance. 

 "How do I get up there to fix that? "

"No idea mate, you're on your own with that one."

A small tractor unloading precious cargo. 

The tractor is made up of parts from Ramshackle Games, as are a lot of the pieces of scenery I've made in the past.

Drone view, showing the bustle around the rear of the craft as it's hurriedly unloaded to avoid tempting raiders.  

 Front view, showing nameplate

 Another view

The Chief Engineer always hates landing. He prefers zero-G, no people, and his bottle of Single Malt Synthathol

And, as well as the staged shots I usually do, I thought I'd do some less cluttered views, to give you an idea of the size and shape of the thing...

Enjoy!